


Stay Till The A.M.

by goneforbooks



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Blame Fae it's her fault, But aside from larry, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, I Tried, I did my best, Larry Stylinson Is Real, Louis POV, M/M, The boys don't really make an appearance, Zayn Malik & Louis Tomlinson Friendship, Zouis Week, Zouis focused, constructive criticism only, i'll add more later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:28:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27189347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goneforbooks/pseuds/goneforbooks
Summary: It's 23rd July and Louis reminisces.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan & Zayn Malik & Liam Payne & Harry Styles & Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik & Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 5
Kudos: 25





	Stay Till The A.M.

**Author's Note:**

> I blame Fae.

The weeks leading up to the 23rd of July 2020 were filled with an electric buzz and Louis could almost taste it on his tongue.

Louis had known that it was an important milestone, knew that it meant equally as much to his band mates and to his fans. He had tried his hardest to give the fans something but because of how the world worked, he had ultimately failed. Liam and Niall had tried to cheer him up and Harry was always there by his side, a constant star.

And yet, he still felt like he disappointed the fans.

But waking up to a worldwide trend of _LOUIS WAKE UP_ made him think that maybe the fans weren't really sad.

Shaking his head with a smile, he turned towards his husband. Louis didn't need a mirror to know how his eyes crinkled as he took in the sight of Harry, all golden in the morning light, looking soft under the sheets with his tattoos on complete display. Softly, Louis traced his lips, a gentle fond smile on his face as Harry twitched and buried himself deeper into the sheets and consequently, Louis.

It was 10 am, far later than when they'd usually wake up and Louis still didn't have the heart to wake up the sleeping beauty beside. Even after 10 years, he was still floored by how ethereal the man next to him was. How lucky he was to grow up with his, to still be each other's. Even after everything.

Louis wasn't prone to retrospective thoughts, but if not today then when?

He started placing gentle kisses on Harry's eyelids. Tracing his face with his fingers and leaving tender kisses in their wake, careful to not kiss his lips. He did that until he felt Harry stirring, but didn't stop until Harry opened his eyes and caught Louis' next kiss with his lips. Morning breath be damned.

"Good morning, sun," Louis whispered when they pulled apart to catch their breath.

"Good morning, honey," Harry's voice was scratchy and sweet at the same time. "How do you feel today?"

"Absolutely stellar," he mumbled into his lips. "Woke up to worldwide trends about us all."

"Wait, already?" Harry pulled back a little more, sleep leaving him as he processed the words and exactly what day it was today.

"Yes, really," Louis laughed and turned to grab his phone, opening Twitter and showing Harry the page.

"Louis Wake Up, Niam, 10YearsOfOneDirection, iheartradioisoverparty," Harry mumbled under his breath before saying out loud, "wait, what did iHeart do?"

"I don't know actually," Louis frowned and leaned over to see what Harry was. "Oh, wait, look at that video," he made Harry pause to look at a clip from their video diaries.

The entire trends page was filled with something or the other related to them, with media outlets publishing articles, fans reminiscing and various celebrity mentions. So far only Liam had said something about the anniversary, a very sweet and lovely tweet mentioning all five of the boys.

It was sweet, and Louis should feel the nostalgia but looking at Zayn's picture, at his name and handle hadn't gotten easier over the years. He thought that as time went on, he'd be mature enough to pick up the phone and call him but either enough time hadn't passed, or he wasn't mature yet, because Louis still couldn't do it.

Harry picked up on his emotions, because of course he did and kissed Louis sweetly to distract him, one hand on his face, cupping his cheek and the other on his neck rubbing little circles in a soothing gesture. "Let's just stay in bed all day today, yeah?" Harry said softly, eyes soft and understanding pouring out of him.

"Yeah," Louis breathed out in reply. "Let's do that."

So, as one they got ready for their day. They might be just lazing around with occasional phone calls here and there doesn’t mean that they could ignore personal hygiene. Harry would never allow that. That day, though, everything was done slower than usual. They felt sated. The buzz Louis felt in the air days prior had settled on his skin, it was making his mind relax, just making him enjoy the moments as they were happening, without a worry for the day after.

He wished everyday could be like that.

Around afternoon, the two of them ended up on the living room couch in sweatpants and tons of snacks, ready to do nothing and just be happy with each other. Both of them were aware that they had to tweet something out at some point, but it wasn't a pressing concern right then.

Choosing which movie to watch was.

*******

An hour later, what had started off as a rewatch of some Marvel movies had ended up becoming a marathon of watching their old interviews together. Laughing at their old selves, breath hitching at promises they couldn't keep, friends they couldn't maintain, but memories that they still had and still treasured.

"You know," Harry began tentatively when Louis once again lost his voice at one of his and Zayn's interviews, "I am pretty sure, Z would appreciate a phone call today."

Louis' head snapped towards his husband. They were a tangled bunch of pillows and limbs and Louis had no right to look as intimidating as he did in sweatpants covered by bunny shaped pillows. "I am not the only one who has a phone, H," he gritted out. "Just because you two are at speaking terms doesn't mean that I have to be as well."

"You miss him, Lou, there's nothing wrong with that," Harry said passionately, leaning forward towards him. "You miss him and you both made mistakes and you want to call him. Admit it, Lou. I know he misses you, too."

"Then why," Louis replied just as passionately, "why hasn't he called?"

"Why haven't you?" Harry threw back.

"I am not the one who left in the middle of a world tour, H. I am not the one who didn't show up when one of our loved ones left us!" Louis threw back, his words were as harsh as ever but his voice didn't go higher than the normal speaking level. And that worried Harry.

Instead of replying, or throwing just as scathing words back, Harry silently got up and grabbed a guitar from the collection they kept in the room. They tended to keep their guitars in common spaces rather than in a studio just because they never knew when a melody would strike them.

He grabbed an acoustic guitar and a capo and sat back on the couch, levelling Louis with a stare and started playing while forcing him to listen to Harry. Automatically, Louis lowered the volume of the TV, unwillingly giving Harry his full attention when he recognised those particular notes.

_"Won't you stay till the A.M,  
All my favourite conversations always made in the A.M,"_

Louis had written this song in a haze of alcohol and tears, with the silent and unwavering support of his friends and husband by his side. Louis had written this song at one of his more vulnerable points, when the pain of losing his best mate was getting too much to bear alone.

Louis had written this song with only one person in mind. He had poured his heart out in it and the weight it held never failed to flay his heart open.

All the while, Harry continued singing.

_"You and me were raised in the same part of town  
Got these scars on the same ground  
Remember how we used to kick around, just wasting time?"_

Was Louis a coward for not picking up the phone? Probably. But he couldn't deny that he misses the man. He misses the people they were together.

How careless and carefree they were.

How vulnerable and invincible they were.

There wasn't a lick of doubt in his mind that they both had things to say. Louis knew that it was important to talk, at least once but he wasn't strong enough for it.

In the background, the TV switched to the campfire footage from their movie. Their words flashing in his mind to the sound of Harry's singing.

_"Won't you stay till the A.M?  
All my favourite conversations always made in the A.M  
Cause we don't know what we're saying  
We're just swimming round in our glasses,  
Talking out of our asses  
Like we're all gonna make it,  
Yeah, yeah,"_

Louis used to be sure that they could all make it. He used to say that it was written on the stones, written in their destinies from the moment they were born.

They weren't just meant to make it. They were meant to make it together.

Now, he wasn't so sure.

They made it. But they weren't all together.

Maybe that was his own fault.

_"Feels like this could be forever right now  
Don't wanna sleep cause we're dreaming out loud  
Trying to behave but you know that we never learn,  
How"_

Maybe it was the song, maybe it was Harry's words from before, maybe it was the day itself or the marathon of interviews they watched together. It could have been all of that, or it could have been the simple love he felt for his partner in crime, for the man that promised to save him no matter what.

They were simply boys then, to each other they'll always be boys.

It could have been all of that that made Louis pick up his phone and dial a number he had spent countless days staring at. Typing messages he never sent. Wanting to call but he never did.

Today was different.

The 23rd of July always was different.

Behind him, Harry finally finished his song and let the last note ring out.

_"Won't you stay till the A.M."_

*******

When the day ended, Louis went to sleep to the worldwide trend of ZOUIS and a smile on his face as he felt the ghost of Zayn's love by his side.

Felt his support and when he closed his eyes he could see Zayn's smile. The one he flashed at him whenever they did something mischievous. The one filled with secrets and treasures and happiness.

He felt better than he had in a while. 

Louis could say now, confidently that they had all made it. 

Together.

Like it always should be.

**Author's Note:**

> This was something I had to write. I had the idea for a long while but never motivation to do so. So thanks Fae for that, I guess.
> 
> Follow me on twitter: alwaysbravehl  
> On tumblr: notabadlifelwt


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